⋆.ೃ࿔*:･ MAKE YOU MINE ღ !
ੈ✩‧₊˚ ── ── ── 006. ( real life. . .)
────── ❛ CAN'T SAVE HER ❜

𐙚˙✧˖°💋💌 ༘ ⋆｡ ˚
IRL ! ; valentine's pov

VALENTINE REFRAINS FROM sighing as she taps her dark red acrylics on the wooden table of the diner booth she's currently sat at. unfortunately for val, she's dying from boredom while being accompanied by sophie and her friends in this local diner off campus, not too far from it though.

val gently holds onto the straw in her chocolate milkshake, stirring the thick liquid while resting her chin on the palm of her hand and ignoring whatever these people are talking about. she tunes them out, continuing to stir her drink and instead listening to the sound of cutlery clinking, creaking stools, slurping milkshakes or the nearby waitress asking for everyone's orders.

"—so then i said," someone pauses to place a sweet potato fry in her mouth, "you can't just hate me because i'm better than you," she finishes her sentence, actually managing to stop valentine from her attempt to ignore their conversation with how stupid she sounded.

valentine shifts her focus away from the dull—but more interesting than the people next to her—setting outside of the diner. instead, she turns her head and of course it was genevieve davis behind that stupid sentence. valentine would've been stupid to agree to meet sophie's friends for lunch without finding out any sort of usual information about them. in other words, searching them up on every single social media platform they're on.

genevieve davis is the music artist of sophie's friend group. based on her main instagram account, she spends most of her time practicing singing in the studio that the university provides; her dream is to become famous one day. also based on her instagram account, she's self-centered and probably one of the most annoying girls on campus to val, other than mars mayfield of course.

val then glances over at the brunette sat next to genevieve, a warm smile on her face as she picks up an onion ring from the plastic basket. that's clementine wright, the social butterfly of the friend group, as well as the most tolerable other than sophie. based on clementine's social media, she loves to attend parties or any other events. typically valentine wouldn't be a fan of somebody like that since she's the complete opposite, but so far clementine seems to be quite sweet.

finally, sitting next to clementine is aurora hartley. she's definitely a people pleaser—having a strong desire to please everybody else even at the expense of her own needs. aurora is also quite kind and agreeable, making valentine happy that there's someone else slightly similar to her at blackmore. the only difference really is that valentine is more of a loner while aurora clearly enjoys other people's company.

the friend group isn't valentine's ideal group of people that she would willingly hang out with, but if she wants to seem like a normal girl, she needs to start doing normal things. one of those being frequently going out to parties as if that's why she's at college, genevieve's words, not hers.

"so! valentine..." genevieve trails off with a seemingly false smile on her face as valentine's gaze is glued to her, already anticipating whatever she has to say. "what made you move to new york and come to blackmore?" she questions but val knows what she's trying to do; genevieve is testing her.

valentine refrains from rolling her eyes, again, at the question, pressing her lips together. val doesn't even have to think twice about keeping the real reason why she moved to new york to herself, instead molding a quick but believable lie. she clears her throat, "i like to travel a lot," val eventually says before smiling but genevieve narrows her eyes as if she doesn't believe her. "see, i moved from chicago but new york is just so much better," she adds on, just to add a hint of truth to what she's saying.

an abnormal silence then falls over the group entirely, only the sounds of the background filling valentine's ears. she blankly stares at genevieve—who's narrowing her eyes at her—waiting for her to stop staring.

but instead, genevieve just glances at the two girls sat next to her—aurora and clementine—before her gaze falls back onto valentine. val doesn't blame her for being so suspicious, but it's still slowly starting to annoy her with how irritating genevieve is.

"val's cool," sophie mumbles out of nowhere to break the silence, a reassuring grin tugging on her lips as a pitiful smile grows on valentine's face. "she's my roommate plus she's studying fashion designing, i mean look at her," soph refers to how much she loves valentine's outfits.

aurora nods in agreement, "i was just about to say how much i love your low rise jeans," she says with a smile on her face, followed by a quiet and shy 'thank you' leaving valentine's lips.

val quickly glances at genevieve, acknowledging the expression slowly forming on her face—gen's upper lip drenched in a bubblegum flavored lipgloss is lifted into a sneer while her eyes are narrowed. val's face scrunches up as she's genuinely confused as to what's caused genevieve to show such hostility towards her. maybe gen just has some sort of bad feeling about val, but she obviously has no evidence against her so there's really no other explanation.

"have you guys seen mars?" genevieve eventually questions, snapping valentine out of her recurring thoughts. "she was supposed to meet us here," she purses her lips while her eyes trace over everybody but the girls all shake their heads even though valentine has definitely seen mars, or at least what's left of her in that ditch.

val anxiously chews on the inside of her cheek while picking at the skin beneath her nails, trying to hide the nerves coursing through her veins at the mention of mars' name. now that she thinks about it, valentine didn't really check if anybody was around before she did what she did. val's really not sure if she skimmed over anybody witnessing her following mars, murdering her, and dumping the body in a nearby ditch.

she stares into space, not even registering the fact that there's two people now standing at the diner booth she's sat at. "nick! matt!" sophie radiantly beams, hopping up from her seat to hug the boys.

their familiar names break valentine from the familiar trance she keeps falling into, blinking repeatedly before looking up at the two boys hugging sophie. she quickly recalls how they're christopher's brothers, if the fact that they're almost identical to him wasn't a big enough hint. but to valentine, there's something different about them compared to chris.

maybe it's the fact that chris has such an undeniable aura to him that immediately called valentine's name, something that nick and matt lack. val knows how that sounds in her head, but she's not saying that they're unattractive because they're definitely both equally attractive as each other.

sophie pulls away from the brothers before returning back to her seat in the booth as nick and matt both look at valentine. she feels slightly out of place since everybody around her has known each other for ages, while she's just 'the new girl'.

nick runs his hand through his blonde hair before adjusting his red and black striped sweater. "hey, you're..." he clears his throat, "valentine right?" he finally asks, looking at matt for a small sense of reassurance. "it's nice to finally meet you," nick adds on, making val's heart warm slightly.

"cause sophie literally cannot stop talking about you in our groupchat," matt says through a dry chuckle, a grin creeping up on his lips as sophie hits him in the gut. "ouch soph," he sarcastically mumbles while holding onto where she hit him.

valentine purses her lips while her attention shifts to sophie. "good things, i hope?" she shyly questions, hoping that nick and matt aren't anything like genevieve or mars...in other words: gossiping bitches.

"yeah—of course!" sophie giggles, placing a comforting hand on valentine's shoulder. a few seconds pass before she shifts her focus back to nick and matt, "have you guys heard from mars?"

nick immediately rolls her eyes at the mention of her name, making a small crease appear between valentine's eyebrows. she's slightly confused as to why nick's face is scrunched up, but she's definitely intrigued. a loud sigh also leaves matt's lips, the two of them looking at each other, then back at sophie.

"is she not staying with her dad?" nick asks through a huff, "i mean, who's keeping track of her anyways," his tone is harsh, making genevieve, aurora and clementine exchange judgmental glances. nick defensively throws his hands in the air after noticing this, "i'm not wrong!"

"long story short," matt pauses to let out a loud sigh again. "mars did something to chris so we're honestly done with her," he leaves the girls wondering what she did, all of them except for valentine.

val knows exactly what mars did and there's not an ounce of regret inside of her after she informed chris about her cheating. based on the fact that chris loves his brothers more than anything in the world, he obviously must've told them what happened and the fact that she's supposedly staying at her dad's house.

genevieve shakes her head in disbelief, probably not believing that her friend could do something to chris. "that's the dumbest shit i've ever heard, matt," she rolls her eyes and shakes her head. "what did she do this time? as her sorority sister, it's my job to defend her!"

"just fucking ask chris at this point," nick frustratedly blurts out before pinching at his nose bridge. "because whatever she did was bad enough for coach to bench him for the game tonight," his tone is laced with concern for his brother.

aurora's jaw slacks open while her eyebrows knit together. "but he's one of the best on the team, that's bullshit," she folds her arms. "what'd he do that made coach fisher bench him for one of their most important games?" she questions with a tilted head.

"uh," matt pauses momentarily while visibly trying to search for the correct words to describe his brother's unfortunate shift in behavior. "coach yelled at chris to get off the pitch—"

"again, this is mars' fault," nick intentionally cuts off his brother to clarify how she's the one to blame. "along with the fact that our stupid brother somehow lost his wallet too," he's quick to roll his eyes while recounting everything bad thats happened to chris. it's clear how much nick and matt care for their brother and val feels slightly upset that she's caused this sudden shift in his life.

sophie pouts her lips slightly as she rests her elbow on the diner table, placing her chin on the palm of her hand. "i really hope he feels better soon," she mumbles, her tone sincere and sympathetic. honestly, sophie is the only one who valentine doesn't mind when it comes to chris' friends because she's the sweetest and anyways, sophie is probably not into chris.

matt raises his hand to rub his forehead in distress, "yeah, same. mars just needs to not be a coward and come back to blackmore to face him," he mutters and nick nods his head in agreement. "hiding out at her parents' house can't save her."

genevieve's face crinkles in confusion but she stays silent for a couple moments to most likely process everything that nick and matt have said. she looks up at valentine to narrow her eyes at her, but of course val notices so genevieve quickly looks away.

"anyways!" nick exclaims followed by a forced grin, shifting valentine's focus away from the odd looks that genevieve's giving her. "we're gonna go back to blackmore, catch you guys later?" he asks and the girls all nod, saying their goodbyes in different ways. sophie envelopes both of them in a warm embrace and genevieve does the same, aurora does some short of goodbye handshake, clementine dabs them both up.

however the most valentine can do is mutter a quick and quiet 'goodbye' to both of them since she isn't on the same level as the rest of them right now. that's just because to be apart of their lives, she needs to be a part of chris'. val's mind just rummages through different possibilities and one small idea pops into her head.

THE NIGHT SKY is aglow with bright city lights while the pale crescent moon sits comfortably, shining like a silvery claw. valentine purses her lips while staring at the sky and the way each star sparkles with life like distant diamonds. the humid nights have air thick enough to press against her skin and the light breeze with a familiar scent makes val smile to herself; she enjoys the night time as much as she enjoys when it's raining.

she thickly swallows while walking through the campus and towards the frat house that chris is staying at tonight. the only reason that valentine knows he's staying at the frat house and not his dorm is because of sophie, so thanks sophie.

valentine folds her arms while picking at the fabric of this oversized hoodie she's wearing, as well as a pair of shorts and uggs. she's slightly cold but the mental image of her having chris' company in a couple moments creates a feeling of warmth in her body. his wallet sits comfortably in the pocket of her hoodie but just as she starts to reach the frat house, valentine notices somebody sitting on the steps leading to the front door.

it's a guy with his arms folded and resting on his propped up knees. valentine can see he's wearing a hoodie with the hood up but for some reason, she feels like she knows who it is. "chris?" valentine calls out in a loud whisper and his head immediately looks up to face her. he's sat beneath a street light so valentine can see the fact that his eyes are slightly red as if he's been crying. "chris..." she trails off while her lips part with concern at the state he's in.

she thickly swallows at the sight of chris and the fact that he genuinely looks heartbroken, making her frown. valentine knows that she's caused this, but chris needed to know the truth because he would've been even more hurt in the long run. she slowly walks towards chris while reaching inside of her pocket for his wallet.

"what are you doing here?" chris asks followed by a sniffle, him somehow disregarding the fact that valentine seems to know where he is. he straightens his posture slightly as val takes a seat on the cold concrete ground next to him.

"i asked sophie," she answered truthfully before revealing his wallet. "i found this on campus and i had to give it back to you," valentine places it on his lap and a small smile tugs on her lips as chris blinks repeatedly at the sight of his important possession.

chris looks directly at valentine, then back at the wallet on his lap, then back at her. there's a silence surrounding them and she thickly swallows at how close they are to each other. "thanks," chris bluntly responds, turning his head to stare back at the distance.

"yeah—no worries," valentine mutters under her breath while crossing her legs. she ignores the uncomfortable feeling of concrete rubbing against her bare skin because she can't complain at the fact that she's alone with chris right now. "are you okay?" she asks, but valentine already knows the answer. he's not okay. chris just isn't okay and it's all her fault but there's just so many emotions she's feeling that's causing this and she doesn't know how to explain it.

"i'm fine," chris lies through his teeth, oblivious to the fact that valentine knows the truth. she's aware that they aren't close, let alone friends, so she doesn't blame chris for concealing the truth. "just complicated, i don't wanna stress you out with my problems."

'you could never do that', valentine thinks to herself, trying to resist from explaining to chris how she'd be honored to hear about his problems. valentine sighs, because the only way to get chris to open up, is for her to do it herself. "i'm sure i've gone through worse," she challenges and listens to the soft chuckle that leaves his lips. "try me, chris."

he huffs, "did the girlfriend that you've had since you were in high school cheat on you with one of your friends?" he blankly questions, turning his head to face valentine with an awkward smile on his face. val just stares at him as she pushes her lips into a thin line. "yeah, i didn't think so..." chris mumbles, maintaining his eye contact with valentine.

valentine looks up at chris through her eyelashes, noticing how her doe eyes are practically hypnotizing him. "i'm so sorry that happened to you," valentine whispers before pulling her bottom lip between her teeth. the tension surrounding them is enough to give her butterflies and she hopes that chris feels it too. she takes this moment to fully glance over the features of his face, savoring this opportunity to fully focus on all the details she hasn't been able to see up close. like those freckles scattered across his face she can only see if she looks hard enough. like those icy blue eyes that make her melt when they make eye contact. like his stubble that he tries so hard to get rid of for some odd reason.

"it's not your fault," chris whispers before chewing on his bottom lip. valentine's not sure if he's nervous or if he's just doing this to play with her undeniable and strong feelings towards him that he hopefully doesn't know about.

but suddenly, the comfortable, thick silence they fell into is suddenly broken by chris' phone pinging from next to his leg. he blinks multiple times before shuffling away from valentine and reaching for his phone, making her frown slightly. she's not sure what she was expecting because they only just met and it'll take a while until chris is hers. she'll work for it though because valentine truly doesn't care how long it takes to call chris her own. it's just a matter of time until he realizes that she's the one for him.

he picks up his phone, looking at the notification on the screen. but it's as if his face turns pale and the color from his eyes drain. chris' lips part and the speed of his breaths rapidly increase. "oh my god," chris says under his breath, "something bad happened to my girlfriend."

⋆.ೃ࿔*:･ arianna speaks ¡
long chapter SORRY

it's gonna get crazyyyy now